In pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, typically processing plants, the key to finding the best possible automation solution is a thorough analysis of each individual part of the plant or installation. In this way, the question of where plant intelligence should rest can be answered: i.e. does the nature of the application require centralised control interfacing to non-intelligent nodes,or does the physical size of the system mean that control has to be decentralised - using a fieldbus system and intelligent valves and actuators